The New Year brings with it the rejuvenating sense of a fresh start brimming with new opportunities and ideas. For those of us in love with design, it’s also a time to feast on the new trends and design predictions for the year ahead. When it comes to interiors, everything from technology to fabrics, sustainability to wellness are having their influences on the way we design our homes, especially our kitchens. From our own predictions to those from leading researchers around the globe, these are the design trends we’re looking forward to in 2024.
Interior style trends
Starting with the overall style of interior spaces, there’s a heavy influence coming from wellness, nature and our increasing need for real connections. Focusing on spaces that soothe the soul and impact how we feel, these are the colours, materials and features that will be taking centre stage.
Greige is the king of colour
For those who love neutral tones, ‘greige’ is the palette to look out for in 2024. Timeless and elegant, this fusion of grey and beige has been slowly sneaking up on us all over the course of 2023 and it’s looking as though it’s here to stay. The calming neutral mix comes after a decade of grey’s omnipresent reign bringing an extra touch of warmth to contemporary style.
Perfectly imperfect: wabi-sabi
It’s in with the perfectly imperfect, as the Japanese tradition for aesthetics that celebrate transience and imperfection prevails throughout interior design. For those of us who delight in the beauty of natural materials – celebrating the asymmetrical patterns of raw stone or the characterful knots of unpolished wood, this is a moment of triumph. From art to wall finishes featuring tactile sensuousness and unique patinas, we’re welcoming raw earthy integrity into our homes and revelling in all its glory.
The quiet luxury of low-key luxe
Celebrating nature and imperfections doesn’t mean compromising on luxury – quite the opposite. There’s an understated chic to the stylish finishes of 2024, with the rise and rise of low-key luxe. Giving the impression of effortless style, chic and sophisticated spaces are characterised by beautifully made finishes, high quality materials and expert craftsmanship. Think classic linen, velvet in muted tones and natural stone elements rich in textural appeal. This is about paying attention to the details with handmade ceramics, bespoke artwork and natural fibres – we do concur that there’s simplicity to it, but it’s unmistakably luxurious.
The power of touch
In keeping with all three of these style trends so far, texture is playing a key role in the most stylish homes of the new year. We’re eschewing high polish for textural appeal and matte finishes, natural surfaces and a variety of materials that you can’t help but want to touch. From woodwork to rough hewn stone, velvet to rattan, it’s about delivering tactile connectivity with our surrounding spaces.
Playing with light
The more we understand about the impact of light on our health, wellbeing and the experiences we have in our home environments, the greater the role it plays in interior design. Not merely about function but a defining feature of interior space, diffused light is making its way to the fore next year, gently illuminating our homes as well as shining the spotlight on key details. Playing with glowing effects, interiors are seeing more textural glass inserts for cabinetry as well as the use of colour scales to create gradients or subtle finishes such as brushed metal.
Home accessory trends
Adding the next layer to home formation, home accessories are upping their game in 2024. It’s not about having more but delivering higher purpose and higher quality. Making our homes serve us better and ensuring we support the environment by buying once and buying well, accessories are being chosen to stand the test of time.
Heirloom chic
Inspired by both sustainability and style, this year is all about investment pieces for the home – the items that have timeless appeal and are made to last generations. From antique furniture to beautifully made modern artworks, the most stylish homes are peppered with items that will outlive their owners. Mindful of both the quality of well-made pieces and the environmental gold standard of reducing waste, it’s out with throwaway style and in with contemporary heirlooms.
Integrated biophilia
Biophilic design that brings the natural world inside has been on the rise for a number of years. Delivering a multitude of wellbeing benefits in addition to being aesthetically pleasing, plants are shifting gear from being an accent in the home to a fully integrated, core design element. Providing a seamless transition between nature outside and in, we’re going to see storage units that double as planters and integrated growing boxes in kitchens and bathrooms.
Work-from-home helpers
Tech is getting in on the work from home revolution with accessories that work smarter rather than harder. Designed to support the productivity of remote workers, technology is delivering all the services we want but without the need for hundreds of different items. For example, coffee machines with inbuilt alarm clocks, coffee and tea brewer functions, multi-purpose robot home cleaners and smart scales that track your body composition are just a few of the items on peoples’ wishlists.
Self-sufficiency systems
Environmentalism is playing an enormous role in how we build, design and accessorise our homes, and that mindset is becoming both systemic and intertwined with our growing knowledge around health and wellness. Kitchen appliances are responding to the growing popularity of cooking techniques such as fermenting as well as the benefits of composting instead of sending organic waste to landfill, turning homes into increasingly self-sufficient ecosystems.
Home form and functionality
How our homes work has a powerful impact on how we enjoy them, from the technology that’s included to the effect we know we’re having on the environment through our daily routines. Smart storage and flexibility mean we’re more focused on how our infrastructure correlates with our quality of life, and these are the trends that are providing continuous refinement.
Smart homes are getting smarter
The WGSN x SieMatic trend report noted that “the household penetration rate of smart home devices is expected to hit 29.4% by 2026 […] evolving from reactive to proactive with products and monitory systems working together to predict user needs and make changes automatically”. What does that look like in real terms? Products will leverage artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing and visual recognition to achieve smart homes that truly serve the inhabitants.
Less is more
We’re thinking ahead when it comes to how we design and style our homes, considering modular interiors that can be moved about when we want a change of style, or dismantled for repair or repurpose so that they last a lifetime and are kept away from landfill.
Multipurpose kitchens
Kitchens are continuing their trend for being much more than a place to cook, but a central point in the home for living life. Switching from cooking and dining to working or relaxing, culinary spaces are being increasingly designed with multi-use furniture so that we can get the most out of our spaces both day-to-day and over time as our needs change. Key features include modular furniture, side tables, carts, islands and moveable counters.
Not just an island
Storage is a big issue in any home, and it works best when it’s designed into a space from the outset. As we seek to maximise the use of space, kitchen islands are stepping up, no longer acting purely as zoning areas but also featuring smarter storage and functional elements such as sinks, built-in cutting boards and burners to create additional room for cooking. Floating islands that can be wheeled in as needed are also making an appearance.
Hospitality-inspired homes
Home design is not without its moments of levity and despite a post-pandemic world in which we can all gather at the pub once more, the home bar trend has not lost its appeal. In fact, they’re getting even more spectacular, inspired by the world of hospitality to include prep space and display shelves for homeowners that like to entertain.
Communal appeal
The kitchen might be the heart of the home, where we have long enjoyed gathering around an island to chat while dinner gets underway, but we’re paying much more attention to the other details that are conducive to socialising too. Minimising disruptive sound with acoustic treatments and noiseless extractor fans, as well as more aesthetically appealing cooking appliances such as stovetops with built-in fans to replace cooker hoods. These are all redefining and improving our experience of the spaces we spend the most time in.
Nicholas Anthony’s top design predictions for 2024
For our own part, we are excited by the continuous evolution of timeless home design features that we have been championing for some time. The improved use of space, reverence for quality craftsmanship and engineering, and homes that proactively serve the lives of those who live there. These are the things that we believe will define the best-designed homes of the future.
The rise of auxiliary spaces
As the kitchen continues to stake its claim as a room for people to gather in and enjoy one another’s company, the spaces that serve it are becoming more important. Keeping clutter and noise away from the main area, dedicated cooling rooms, utility rooms, pantries and chef’s kitchens are continuing to define desirability for homeowners.
A kitchen that takes centre stage
While the open plan kitchen remains popular, it’s been subject to a few changes in luxury homes as we seek to refine the experience it offers. Modern homes are straddling the line between the relaxed conviviality of dining in the kitchen and the former trend for dedicated dining rooms. Enabled by the prevalence of auxiliary spaces, kitchens are taking centre stage, hiding functionality in those chef’s kitchens and pantries so that homeowners can host without the detritus of food prep on show. With these helpful spaces feeding off the kitchen and enhancing the home experience, homes become highly functional, operating like a living organism with a suite of engine rooms leading to the beating heart at the centre.
It’s all about quality craftsmanship
We have always emphasised our unwavering commitment to celebrating outstanding craftsmanship, and we continue to do so with enthusiasm. From custom-designed furniture to the details of fluted cabinetry, beautifully made items are not only the key to enjoying every inch of your home simply by being there, but they will stand the test of time as well.
Create a culinary space that’s unique to you.